Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Anthurium hybrid cultivar Pippi.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium plant, botanically known as Anthurium hybrid, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Pippixe2x80x99.
The new Anthurium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Apopka, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Anthurium cultivars with a rapid growth rate, dark green-colored foliage and uniform flowering habit.
The new Anthurium originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Apopka, Fla. on Apr. 23, 1997, of the Anthurium hybrid cultivar Northstar, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,323, as the female, or seed, parent with the Anthurium andreanum cultivar Tropic Fire, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,797, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Pippi was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Apopka, Fla., on May 11, 2000.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar by meristem culture in a controlled environment in Sebring, Fla., since July, 1997, has shown that the unique features of this new Anthurium plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.
The new Anthurium has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of the cultivar Pippi. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Pippixe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar of Anthurium:
1. Upright and outwardly spreading plant habit; relatively intermediate in size.
2. Glossy dark green-colored leaves with dark purple-colored venation.
3. Flat, cordate and red-colored spathes.
4. Inflorescences that are positioned above the foliage on strong and erect scapes.
5. Excellent inflorescence longevity with spathes maintaining red coloration for at least eight weeks.
Plants of the new Anthurium are most similar to plants of the male parent, the cultivar Tropic Fire. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Homestead, Fla., plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Tropic Fire in the following characteristics:
1. Leaves of plants of the new Anthurium were more rugose and darker green in color than leaves of plants of the cultivar Tropic Fire.
2. Leaf petioles and scapes of plants of the new Anthurium were flushed with bronze whereas leaf petioles and scapes of plants of the cultivar Tropic Fire were green in color.
3. Spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were more cordate than spathes of plants of the cultivar Tropic Fire.
Plants of the new Anthurium can also be compared to plant of the female parent, the cultivar Northstar. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Homestead, Fla., plants of the new Anthurium differed from plants of the cultivar Northstar in the following characteristics:
1. Leaves of plants of the new Anthurium were more rugose and darker green in color than leaves of plants of the cultivar Northstar.
2. Spathes of plants of the new Anthurium were red in color whereas spathes of plants of the cultivar Northstar were light pink in color.